Happy New Year, folks! As always, beginning a new year means reflecting on the old one, in cinema as much as anywhere else. 2015 was quite a good year for movies indeed, and while I doubt anyone will wholeheartedly agree with my selections I would hope that everyone still found their share of films to enjoy and learn from. But this is my blog, so it’s my list we’re talking about first and foremost… so let’s get to it!

Happy New Year, folks! But before we dive into the deep pool of film in 2015, it’s time for me to browbeat you one last time with my opinions about 2014’s cinematic offerings. I can’t imagine that anyone being disappointed in this year’s film slate, and if you were then you either didn’t watch enough movies or you need to lighten the hell up. As far as I was concerned, this year was great from top to bottom. From big blockbusters to stylish arthouse films to indie comedies to boundary-breaking genre fare, 2014 had something for everyone. Even with some big-ticket items missing from my list, I’m still incredibly happy with this collection of films, and any year that produced them (and many other great movies besides) is a year I can be happy with.

As 2014 prepares to close and my ensuing Favorite Movies list takes shape, I find myself looking back not just on this past year but the one before it as well. 2013 had plenty of great movies, and for all of the good movies I did include on my list last year I wonder if there were others to which I didn’t give due credit… or maybe some that I gave too much credit. While film criticism tends to be built around immediacy and forward motion, I thought it would be worthwhile to look backward for just a moment and reconsider the movies of 2013, and see what might have fallen through the cracks.

Happy New Year folks! Apologies for the slack in postings, as I’ve spent the last couple of weeks celebrating the holidays and catching up on movies from this year in preparation for this very list. With the year ending, the time has come to reflect back on the movies I’ve seen and consider which ones moved me, excited me, and inspired me the most. HOWEVER, before we get into which movies those are, it should be clear that these are my favorite movies, not the ones that I necessarily consider to be the best. And I’ll explain the difference on my way to my Favorite Movies of 2013, after the jump.